Store furniture



W. M. CAMPBELL.

STORE FURNITURE.

APPLICATION FILED AUGJZ. 1920.

Patented July 5, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I 7151mm 65.717950 ZZ.

f @51 JMwZZZ/D W4L W. M. CAMPBELL.

STORE FURNITURE.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.12. 1920.

1,383,980, Patented July 5, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- eras carrier STORE FURNITURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 5, 1921.

Application filed August 12, 1920. Serial No. 403,032.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WiLLIAivi M oeLnr CAMPBELL, a citizen of the Dominion of Canada, domiciled and residing at Hot Springs, in the county of Garland and State of Arkansas, have invented certain new and.

useful Improvements in Store Furniture, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in store furniture; 1t has particular reference to a piece of store furnitur having endless conveyers designed for the display and vending of goods, wares and merchandise in the so-called self serving stores, and wherein the furniture 1s designed to extend along and form a wall of a shopping aisle so that customers passing along the aisle are permitted to inspect and select from the various article holders or compartments of the display cabinet, the particular goods with which the compartments are supplied. In a separate application filed by me on the 12th day of August, 1920, Serial Number 403,031 1 have shown and described fioor plans and other accessories which enter into the construction of the self-serving store, such as I have above referred to, and in said application 1 have incidentally shown in a general way store furniture of the type'which I am about to fully describe and claim.

A leading object of the present invention is to provide an attractive and useful piece of store-furniture which is well adapted for the display and vending of various articles and which is designed to extend along a shopping aisle of the store room so asto form a wall thereof, and the construction of which is such that it may be readily filled from the rear to supply empty receivers, shelves or compartments so as to maintain a full supply of goods for the selection of proposed customers, the arrange ment being such that the customer may operate suitable carriers and bring into register with a discharge opening the particular goods selected for purchase, the several compartments of the furniture being supplied with its individual conveyer so that the operation of one conveyer does not interfere with the operation of any other conveyer by a different customer.

With the above and other objects in view my invention consists of the parts and the constructions, arrangements and combinations of parts which I will hereinafter de scribe and claim.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification and in which similar reference characters indicate like parts in the several views:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of suflicient portion of a piece of store furniture to disclose one embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one of the receivers or article carriers.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the same.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a blank from which the receivers or article carriers are formed.

Figs. 6, *7, 8 and 9 are details to be referred to.

In carrying out my invention 1 construct this article with a suitable base portion, 2, which may be paneled or otherwise rendered attractive and upon which base portion the frame or superstructure, 3, of cabinet form, is built or placed, said base being of greater width than the frame superstructure so that its upper portion serves as a shelf or counter, 4, upon which goods removed from any of the several compartments of the cabinet may be temporarily placed. The frame, cabinet or superstructure, 3, is divided into rows of vertical compartments by the vuse of appropriate partitions, 5, and these compartments may, if desired, be covered with glass fronts, 6, which will protect the goods in the several compartments against theft, dust and vermin, but at the same time allow the goods to be inspected by customers passing along the shopping aisles, or the front of the furniture.

Extending horizontally along the upper portion of th frame or cabinet, 3, are certain moldings or strips, 7, which become holders for appropriate cards, 8, upon which may be printed such subject-matter of an advertising nature, as may be desired, and which will have particular reference to the goods which the store carries. Other strips, 9, may also extend along the upper portion of the frame or cabinet, 3, for the purpose of receiving other cards, 10, on which ill b printed the name and, if thought desirable, the price of the goods in the compartments immediately below said cards,

thereby giving desirable information to the customer.

In each of the compartments formed by the partitions, 5, I arrange an endless-conve'yer, the. specific construction of which may vary except that it shall include upper and lower supporting wheels, 11, and over which wheels the equivalent of an endlesschain passes. I prefer that this chain shall be in the form of alternating short and long .links, 12, and 13, the long links, 13, being tively sustained. As before described, the

endless conveyers include the article receivers, 14:, each of which serves the purpose of and is the equivalent of any suitable shelf, since upon these receivers or holders are supported-the goods to be displayed and vended. I. prefer that each of the receivers or holders shall be constructed from a blank similar to the one shown in Fig. 5, and which blank isformed with a main flap, 17 and side flaps, 18, the main flap having lugs, 19, for riveting to the long links of the chains, said main flap being bent or fashioned into the form shown in Fig. 3, so that it will form the bottom, back and top of the receiver, and the two side flaps, 18, being bent to form retaining sides for said receiver or holder, sons to more securely sustain the exhibited goods in place. In addition to the foregolng the blank is likewise formed along one end with. a flap, 20, which is designed to be bent upwardly so that it extends a suitable distance above the bottom of the receiver and forms a front fiangeor lip to further retain the" goods in said receiver or holder in properposition. Except for this flange or lip the front of the re- ,ceiver, holder or shelf is open to facilitate the removal ofthe goods supported'on or carried thereby. Tofthis end, I form outlets, 21, in the front of the cabinet or frame, 3, and which outlets are substantially in the horizontal plane of the counter or top pertion of the base, 2, that when the endless conveyers are operated by the customer to brlng any desired recelver, iolder ,orshelf into register with said outlet, the article or' goods carried by the said receiver may be readily removed therefrom through the proper outlet and be deposited upon the counter portion, 4:. To facilitate this operation I provide certain of thereceivers, holders or shelves, 14L, say every third one, with rods, 22, which extend through vertical slots, 23, in facing-strips, 24, on the front of the cabinet so that these Trods, which represent handles may be grasped by the customer to impart rotation to the endless conveyer of that'particular compartment of the cabinet so as to bring the desired receiver or article.

into register with the aforesaid outlet opens ing. The guiding'handles, 22, are connected with some appropriate check and release structure. The one shown in Figs. 8and 9 will be suitable for the purpose, the same consisting of a transverse bolt, 25, operating in guides, 26, and adaptedto be projected across the slots 23, to limit the movement of the handles, 22, and the extent of rota.-

tion of the conveyers,'said bolt, 25, having,

an operating. finger piece, 26, to be grasped by'the customer to remove or release the bolt from the path of the following handle, 22, and permitting the conveyer to be moved a sufficient distance to bring the selected goods into register with the outlet.

The bolts 25 are each connected to a spring, 27, for returning the bolt to normal position across the path of a succeeding handle, 22, to thereby stop excessive continuous movement of the conveyer. Each con:

motion to facilitate its operation and the proper delivery of solicited articles.

The bolts, 25, are also designed to be operated from the rear of the cabinet so as to enable the attendant at that point and who may be filling empty shelves or re-.

ceivers, to withdraw the bolts at the front and rotate the conveyers without passing around to'the front of the cabineti To this end, each spring-actuated bolt, 25, may be connected to a pull rod, 27', which in turn is pivotally or otherwise connected to a rod,

28, carried byra release arm, 29, at the back of the, cabinet and which latter arm may have a handle or finger piece 30, to facilitate its rocking movement, and the consequent release or withdrawal of the sliding bolt, 25, connected therewith. From this arrangement it will be understood that either a customer. or the party filling the, empty receivers from the rear may actuate the sliding release bolt atwhich the guidinghandle, 22, has been stopped, and which handle may then be moved until it contacts with the next succeeding bolt which action arrests the further movement of the conveyeri; On account of the uneven load or we ght on the front run of theconveyerwhen the shelves or receivers on the back run are empty, it may be desirablev to create suiiia cient friction in the sprocket-wheel bearing to assist in overcoming the tendency of the conveyer to run too freely. This may beaccomplished by forming the sprocket wheels 95 veyer may, therefore, have a step-by-step. I

with split hubs, 81, as shown in Fig. 6, and threading the tapering exterior surfaces of these hubs for the reception of lock nuts, 32,

by which the friction between the sprocket wheel and their shafts may be increased or decreased at pleasure. The speed of the conveyers may thus be controlled and the danger of the receivers or shelves being run down past the proper delivery outlet will e avoided.

As before suggested, at the back of the cabinet and which back in the type of store furniture referred to will form a wall of a filling aisle of the store room, other open ings, will be formed so that goods may be supplied from said aisle to empty receivers or shelves as they come into register with the said filling openings, it being understood that the back of the cabinet is accessible to an attendant having charge of the refilling of the empty receivers, and who will see that the various receivers of the several conveyers are properly supplied so as to preserve the display of the goods and afford the best possible selection to the customer.

In order to guard against theft or unlawful appropriation of goods without notice to an attendant I may arrange for each compartment of the cabinet a signal, as the bell, 3-1, on some appropriate part of the cabinet or frame and in the path of movement of a portion, 35, of the receiver or shelf or some equivalent part, so that the latter will actuate the bell as it passes and thus give audible indication of the operation of the conveyer with which the bell is associated.

The link belts or chains 1 preferably suspend between the pairs of upper and lower notched or sprocket wheels, as shown in Fig. Tbut other well known arrangements of conveyers may be resorted to, if desired, without departing from the essential features of my invention.

The device which I have described is effective as a vending or dispensing agent of a selfserving store it is substantially closed and consequently is substantially dust, theft and vermin proof and its use will conduce to the sanitary handling of commodities intended for human consumption.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An article of store furniture, comprising a cabinet subdivided into rows of compartments, said cabinet having delivery outlets connecting with said compartments; independent endless conveyers operable in the compartments, each having a series of article receivers or holders adapted to suecessively register with one of said outlets, means for manually imparting movement to the conveyers, said means comprising handle members attached to each conveyer, locking bolts projected across the path of movement of said handles; and means for releasing said bolts.

2. An article of store furniture comprising a cabinet subdivided into rows of compartments, said cabinet having delivery out lets connecting with said compartments, independent endless conveyers operable in the compartments each having a series of article receivers or holders adapted to suecessively register with one of said outlets, means for manually imparting movement to the conveyers, said means comprising handle members on the receivers exposed at the front of the cabinet, said cabinet havin guide slots for said members interposed in the path of said members, and means for limiting the rotation of the conveyers to insure the registering of the receivers with the respective article outlets.

3. An article of store furniture, comprising a cabinet subdivided into rows of compartments, said cabinet having delivery outlets connecting with said compartments, independent endless conveyers operable in the compartments each having a series of article receivers or holders adapted to successively register with one of said outlets, means for manually imparting movement to the conveyers, said means comprising guided handle portions on the conveyers, slidable locking-bolts adapted to be projected across the path of movement of the handle portion to check the further travel of the conveyers when a preceding receiver registers with its respective article outlet, and means for actuating said bolts.

4.. An article of store furniture comprising a cabinet subdivided into rows of compartments, said cabinet having delivery outlets connecting with said compartments, i11- dependent endless conveyers operable in the compartments, each having a series of article receivers or holders adapted to successively register with one of said outlets, means for manually imparting a step-bystep movement to the conveyers, said means comprising guided handle portions on the conveyers, slidable locking-bolts adapted to be projected across the path of movement of the handle portions to check the further travel of the conveyers when a preceding receiver registers with its respective article outlet, and means for actuating said bolts, said last-named means including connections extending from the locking bolts to the rear of the cabinet to permit actuating the bolts and operating the conveyers from the latter point.

In testimony whereof I aliix my signature.

WlLLlAIVl MIDGLEY CAMPBELL. 

